Session II

Session II Project Presentations (10 min. + 5 min. Q & A)

10:05 am - 10:20 am
10:20 am - 10:35 am
10:35 am - 10:50 am
10:50 am - 11:05 am

Schedule

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2023
Wednesday, April 19th
10:05 AM

A Retrospective Analysis of 118 Adult Heart Transplant Centers from 2020 to 2022

Kennedy Bray '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Kevin Johnson '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Siddu Bangaru '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The degree of a center’s aggressiveness (Index of Aggression; IA) in procuring organs for transplantation has rarely been quantified. We aim to create a numerical metric that evaluates a center’s IA and seeks to determine the relationship between IA and survival outcomes. We retrospectively analyzed 118 Adult Heart Transplant Centers in the United States between June 2020 to May 2022 ... Read More

Acoustic Imaging for Nucleation events in a Scintillating Bubble Chamber Dark Matter

Atharva Gawde '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

One of the longest-standing fundamental questions in physics is the nature of dark matter. To address this problem, the Dahl Group's goal, in collaboration with the Scintillating Bubble Chamber (SBC) Collaboration, is to introduce and develop new nuclear recoil detection technology that combines two existing technologies: bubble chamber electron recoil rejection and liquid scintillator event-by-event energy resolution. This technique searches ... Read More

Calculating and Displaying Limits of the Doubly Charged Higgs Boson at Different Branching Ratios

Ivan Chen '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Marcus Kubon '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The doubly charged Higgs boson (H++/H--) is predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model. When searching for the doubly charged Higgs, we look for its decay through a distinctive signal of a same sign lepton pair, which can appear in 6 unique combinations, ignoring combinations containing tau leptons. The rate at which each of those 6 appear relative to ... Read More

Civil Engineering: Water main replacement in the City of Naperville

Steven Espinoza '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The City of Naperville has many talented engineers that are constantly working and bettering the city of Naperville. Thanks to their various projects, this business project was able to focus on replacing a water main in a small roundabout in Naperville. Over the course of six months, the company and mentor provided the needed knowledge which was required for designing ... Read More

Effectiveness of Machine Learning Applications in Environmental Engineering

Nitya Jakka '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The use of machine learning (ML) algorithms to test effectiveness and expand applications in environmental engineering has become increasingly successful. ML algorithms have the advantage of being able to address nonlinear data successfully. Furthermore, environmental engineering has become increasingly data intensive, a challenge that has been met by rapid progress in the development of computational techniques for handling large data ... Read More

Fertility Considerations in Early Pubertal Trans Youths’ Decision-Making about Pubertal Suppression Treatment

Luke Mauk '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) are considered standard-of-care treatment for gender dysphoria among early pubertal transgender youth. GnRHa suppress endogenous puberty, preventing the development of gender incongruent secondary sex characteristics. However, treatment with GnRHa also prevents the maturation of germ cells. Germ cell maturation is necessary for fertility. While GnRHa does not permanently impair fertility, as discontinuing GnRHa treatment would result ... Read More

Finding the Optimal ΔR Cut for Distinguishing Dark Photon Decay and Background Events

Gavin O'Malley '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The phenomenon of dark matter has perplexed physicists for decades, and, in an attempt to find it, some physicists hypothesize a dark sector of particles. These particles interact little with Standard Model particles and have a new force analogous to electromagnetism carried by the dark photon. If this dark photon has enough mass, then it could decay into a tightly ... Read More

Impact of the Skin Epithelial Knockout of Malate Dehydrogenase 2 on Basal Keratinocyte Proliferation

Anisha Kolambe '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

As a barrier to the external environment, the skin serves as the body’s primary mechanism for physical and chemical defense, thermoregulation, and fluid retention. In both tissue homeostasis and wound repair, layers of skin form as cells migrate upward following proliferation and differentiation in the basal layer. Metabolism maintains physiological activity, with inhibited function in diseases including diabetes leading to ... Read More

Implementation of AI into Human Activity

Rohun Baksh '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Matthew Zhang '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

With AI’s endless capabilities, humans have found numerous applications for AI to assist in both complex and simple tasks to improve efficiency and productivity. After extensive research on AI and its uses, we created our bot using Google’s Dialogflow CX Console. The purpose of this bot was to assist users in ordering food. This bot would be able to greet ... Read More

Microturbine Decarbonization with Machine-Learning Regression Modeling

David Biruduganti '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Authorities all across the world are trying to minimize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and this decarbonization step is necessary if the global climate issue is to be resolved. Researchers at Argonne have modified a natural gas-burning microturbine to burn natural gas-hydrogen fuel blends with the aim to reduce CO2 emissions. Emissions and efficiency data are obtained via experiments performed at ... Read More

Pitching Biomechanics studied through A Developing Motion Capture

Luis Hernandez Aguirre '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

My research aims to look at the biomechanics behind a baseball pitch. The focus of the study is not on the results of the experiment, but to prove that scientific research can be conducted using this software. FreeMoCap is a free online software in the alpha stage of development. Omitting the need to purchase equipment costing thousands of dollars, FreeMoCap ... Read More

Saprotrophic Fungi in Restored Agricultural Plots

Christian Cline '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
sofia zasiebida '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Saprotrophic fungi decompose organic matter in soil microbial communities. Fungi break down organic matter into individual compounds via extracellular enzymes. Next, the fungi absorb these nutrients for use and growth. We researched saprotrophic communities in a tallgrass prairie restoration. We looked to see if they differed between monoculture or polyculture plots and whether they differed across the years since restoration, ... Read More

Sickle Cell Awareness

Sufiya Hussaini '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Kosi Okeke '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Muna Onwuameze '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects the production of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Knowledge of sickle cell is very little even though it is a very common disease and research about sickle cell isn’t always prioritized which led us into doing our own research to discover ways ... Read More

The dichotomy of NSD1 as an autophagic regulator in HNSCC

Maggie DiMarco '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (HNSCCs) classify a diverse family of cancers that constitute the sixth most common type of human cancer in the world, with approximately 900,000 new cases annually. Current HNSCC treatments are highly toxic and carry significant side effects, so it is imperative we explore less invasive potential future drug targets. Nuclear-binding SET Domain 1 (NSD1) ... Read More

The Synthesis of Cycloserine and market price analysis

Maya Holland '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterial pathogen that attacks macrophages by puncturing the membrane resulting in cell apoptosis, has been known to be drug-resistant, leaving many patients at risk for a worsening condition. Cycloserine is a second-line treatment for Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in which the cyclic analog to D-alanine targets alanine racemase and D-alanine ligase, blocking the formation ... Read More

Urban Economic Policy with the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development

Pranet Swain '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development is currently working on implementing an EV-Ready Code in the City of Aurora Zoning Code that would require new buildings and homes to be equipped with charging infrastructure. This policy is a critical development in the City Govt.’s plan to position themselves as leaders in the green economy and therefore attract additional investment and ... Read More

10:20 AM

Automatic Histogram Generation for Multi-Channel Analyses

Dean Cianciolo '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Graph automation is required in physics research because physicists sometimes need to look at hundreds of plots to get the results of an analysis. The analysis framework aims to create many different types of plots in a fast to write and easy to understand structure. It performs the many steps that need to be performed to make a plot. Among ... Read More

Conceptual Life History and Habitat Suitability Models for the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

Manasa Balasubramanian '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Annabelle Zhang '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have experienced extensive population decline across their range in the western United States and Canada due to habitat degradation and loss largely associated with land use change, including the development of clean-energy projects. Modeling the life history and habitat suitability of the species is a key tool in understanding how landscape changes could affect sage-grouse ... Read More

Conformational Dynamics of Presequence Protease (PreP) and interactions with specific substrates

Gabriella Kanallakan '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Presequence protease (PreP) is encoded by the Pitrm1 gene which is an essential gene in mice and the defect in the Pitrm1 gene is linked to several human diseases. Presequence Protease (PreP) is a 117kDA M16C metalloprotease that cleaves presequence peptides and degrades amyloid ꞵ(Aꞵ). PreP has a C and N domain connected by a linker region together. There is ... Read More

Drell-Yan Background for Doubly Charged Higgs

Zhengyu Pan '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

A variety of exotic models predict a doubly charged Higgs-like particle that can be pair-produced in hadronic interactions via a Drell-Yan-like mechanism. The H++ and H-- can each decay to a pair of like-sign leptons (muons or electrons in this study) with TeV-scale mass, providing a distinctive event signature. Within Monte Carlo Drell-Yan events, there is a substantial amount of ... Read More

Ethical Hacking and Password Safety

Conor Craddock '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Using a tool called Aircrack, along with another called Cain and Able, I aim to demonstrate the importance of ethical hacking in professional environments. Many times, organizations do maintain proper document security which, along with staff turnover, can introduce critical, password protected documents to security vulnerabilities; some of which could cripple an organization. My goal is to demonstrate the importance ... Read More

Impairments in bilateral reaching and grasping after stroke

JJ Park '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

After stroke, patients experience a significant loss in performing activities of daily living (ADL). For example, with loss of voluntary control and abnormal joint coupling in the upper extremity, stroke survivors have great difficulty performing daily activities such as reach-to-grasp. The paresis mainly affects the side of the body contralateral to the lesion and slight deficits to the ipsilesional side, ... Read More

Integration of CMSSW software into the Analysis Framework

Kevin Huang '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Previous versions of the codebase developed by the IMSA-CMS group have only allowed for data processing of Monte-Carlo events. The structure of the old codebase was built so that the analyzer object would receive a root file and process all events within the file. To implement the analytics of collision data within the codebase, the analyzer needed to be restructured ... Read More

JAG1-Mediated Signaling Promotes Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer

Jerrick Li '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Bhavya Vegesna '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Breast cancer (BC) patients have better outcomes when cancer is detected early, but metastasis remains a major cause of mortality. High levels of the Notch ligand JAGGED-1 (JAG1) has been linked with poor BC prognosis, and is associated with drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Furthermore, JAG1 is associated with lymph node (LN) metastasis, which is a reliable prognostic indicator. While ... Read More

Medicine and Indigenous Mexican Culture After the Conquest

Aldo Magana '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Historians have explained how Indigenous Mexican society changed throughout the colonial period: Indigenous people, particularly the Nahuas, adopted Spanish practices which were “close enough” to preexisting Indigenous practices. In language, Nahuatl initially acquired words for new, Spanish concepts by broadening the meaning of existing words through a “mistaken identity.” Similarly, Nahua political and religious systems which were “close enough” to ... Read More

Optimizing Commercial Video Advertising Cues

Revanth Poondru '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

This research project endeavors to investigate the efficacy of video advertising on consumer behavior for non-perishable, everyday consumer goods such as groceries. In light of the growing adoption of digital media, businesses have amplified their video content output to promote their products or services. Therefore, it is imperative to discern the impact of these advertising techniques on consumer behavior and ... Read More

Optimum Temperature for Phosphomonoesterase Soil Enzyme Activity Assay

Joshua Lee '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Enzymes assays are highly valuable in biochemistry as they offer a method of measuring enzyme activity, which is an important factor when measuring soil quality and health. An important factor when running enzyme assays is the incubation process. In order to make sure that an enzyme is giving an accurate reading of its potential enzyme activity, the enzyme needs to ... Read More

Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors on CMT-93 Wound Healing

Edward Ning '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Matrix metalloproteinase plays an important role in wound tissue regeneration, altering the wound matrix and mediating important responses to growth including angiogenesis and vasodilation. In specific, MMP2, MMP9, and MMP14 play major roles in wound healing through the regulation of angiogenesis and activation of proangiogenic cytokines as well as regulating the influx of immune cells. To test and see how ... Read More

Testing the overexpression of a PNCTR through PNCs and the effect of the knockdown expression of proteins on PNC prevalence

Cara Jacob '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

We are conducting experiments to investigate the effects of overexpressing a long-non coding RNA, known as PNCTR, in cells that typically exhibit low expression levels of PNCs, a metastatic cancer marker. Our objective is to determine whether augmenting the expression of PNCTR in these cells can increase the number of PNCs present. Our research is motivated by a prior study ... Read More

The Applications of Physics in Pancreatic Cancer Screening and Treatment

Daniel Park '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Pancreatic cancer is a dangerous and disproportionately lethal cancer. This is largely a result of its late diagnosis and difficulty in detection and treatment. In order to alleviate this, the applications of physics in pancreatic cancer screening and treatment must be further understood and explored. Of all the current imaging methods, CT and MRI have important connections to physics, and ... Read More

The Effect of Janus-Kinase Inhibitors on the Neutralization of Eczema

Nathaniel Huang '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

A common underlying factor in many cases of eczema, atopic dermatitis, is a weakened skin barrier via damaged barrier proteins such as filaggrin which causes a greater risk for infection. While treatments including Tofacitinib have already been developed, many of them are topical steroids that do not provide permanent recovery and can trigger side effects such as skin thinning. This ... Read More

The potential benefits of caffeine for diabetics

Riman Doodin '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Catherine Shi '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

Caffeine has been known to benefit human health when taken in recommended dosages. With that information, the idea of possibly using caffeine to help people with different types of diabetes began to come about. If caffeine was taken at a dosage as “golden ratio” by diabetic patients, would it be able to help the patients in their daily life by ... Read More

Using Machine Learning to Classify Heart Arrhythmias

Manya Davis '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Laasya Nagumalli '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM

The goal of the study is to research current technology being used to monitor heart rate patterns and learn how to incorporate machine learning to make current methods more effective and cost efficient.

This study utilizes a dataset containing records of patients’ age, weight, height, etc. along with typical electrocardiogram (ECG) test data. The first analysis approach involved the use ... Read More

10:35 AM

An Investigation of Lepton Jet Kinematics, Fakes, and Production from Dark Photons

Jesus Fileto '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Our current model proposes a decay mechanism of massive dark photons from the dark sector into two oppositely charged leptons. Our Higgs production mechanism produces two dark photons resulting in narrow lepton jets arising from these dark photons. Monte Carlo data is analyzed to find distinctive signatures of these lepton jets, such as transverse momenta and eta, that define their ... Read More

Analyzing the Effects of pre-mRNA Strand on Nucleolar Structure

Himani Kamineni '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The nucleolus is the center for ribosome production as well as a host of other cellular functions including genomic organization, cell cycle regulation, and cellular senescence. Previous anti-cancer drugs targeting the nucleolus are known to halt ribosomal transcription machinery, which is correlated with the disruption of nucleolar structure. To determine the key players that maintain the nucleolar structure and to ... Read More

Blood Plasma-derived Exosomes as Potential Biomarkers for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

Arjun Cherukuri '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN) is a debilitating complication that manifests in 25% of diabetic patients and is characterized by neuropathic pain, small-fiber degeneration, and the hyperexcitability of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. In recent years, blood plasma exosomes (BPEs) have developed an emerging role as prominent intercellular messengers with a potential involvement in disease progression, but their study in ... Read More

Conceptual Life-History Models for the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

Elizabeth Carlson '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of concern in the southwest region of the United States, and is noted as declining in recent years. Successful conservation requires an understanding of the species’ population dynamics. However, this collection of information is scattered throughout studies and models regarding the tortoise’s life history does not exist. Thus, I developed conceptual life ... Read More

Conformational dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis M13 metalloprotease Zmp1 and how it interacts with potential substrates

Vidyoot Senthilvenkatesh '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). During infection, Mtb secretes a variety of proteins to confuse the host's immune system including Zinc Metalloprotease 1 (Zmp1). Zmp1 inhibits phagosome maturation and host cell inflammation activation, both of which are vital during M. tuberculosis virulence. It has a hollow catalytic core in which peptides bind and ... Read More

Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi and Imperial Roman Exemplum

Ella Barnett '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

How did Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, a relative of some of the most controversial figures in Roman history, and a woman actively engaged in the political and cultural struggles of her day, become a universal icon of motherhood and morality in the Roman Empire? She was honored by the Roman people with the only publicly voted statue of a ... Read More

Design and Synthesis of Analogs of Dasatinib as Potential Treatments for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and Acute Lymphatic Leukemia

Ellen Nguyen '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Diya Kamath '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Danistab has demonstrated a quick molecular response and has proved itself to be useful in treating many cases of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) and Acute Lymphatic Leukemia (ALL). However, there has been no published research on how the alteration of the structure of Dansitab could increase binding affinity as well as the efficacy of its synthesis in our bodies. Using ... Read More

“Drug Seeking”: Analyzing the Prediction of Drug Seeking Behaviors along Racialization and Minoritization Lines

Venus Obazuaye '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

With recent developments in healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) has proven to become a tool in bedside care faster than many might have imagined, especially within the field of substance use treatment. Recommendations have already started to arise for how to utilize the tool to cut down on physician workload, but in making those recommendations, considerations were not made for the ... Read More

Experimental Analysis of the Shinnery Oak Shrub Using High Resolution Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery

Lily Song '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The p53 gene plays a crucial role in regulating the cell cycle and preventing the development of cancer. In renal cancer, the p53 gene is often mutated, leading to uncontrolled cell growth and proliferation. Targeting the p53 gene with gene knockdown techniques has shown promise as a potential treatment for renal cancer. Adenoviruses have been used as a delivery method ... Read More

Financial Products Research

Avyay Duggirala '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The job of the office of the State Treasurer is to oversee the cash, debt and

investments of the state while simultaneously cultivating good financial decision making among the constituency. I worked with the Illinois State Treasury’s financial products team to learn about and contribute to the evaluation of different financial products and related services. The project(s) given to me ... Read More

Gender Breakdown of STEM Achievement at IMSA: Analysis of Student Grades from 2012-2016

Shanan Riley '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Research into STEM achievement for female students at the collegiate and high school level has shown that peer groups have a substantial impact on both performance and retention in high level STEM classes. The central question of this project is what factors significantly influence the performance of female students when measured against their male peers at IMSA, with a specific ... Read More

Modeling the Epidermal Barrier in Atopic Dermatitis with 3D Human Skin Organoids

Grace Daum '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Sophia Syed '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The epidermal barrier is essential for maintaining skin homeostasis, yet the cellular signaling mechanisms that lead to its formation and function are relatively unknown. Perturbations in the epidermal barrier cause many different skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis. Our investigations will help define signaling mechanisms impacting the barrier in atopic dermatitis using a 3D human skin organoid model made from primary ... Read More

Promoting Environmental Justice by Using a Community-Based Approach to Design a Midwest Comprehensive Visualization Dashboard

Alexandra Jane Orantia '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Environmental justice advocates for the fair distribution of environmental benefits and harms among communities. To determine whether environmental justice is being upheld in a specific geographic region, it is necessary to identify any disparities in the spatial distribution of environmental degradation. In this study we implement a web-based visualization method to evaluate the spatial distribution of environmental burden and vulnerability ... Read More

Removal of Aluminum Foil from Lithium-ion Battery Cathode in the Recycling Process

Zuyu Liu '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are instrumental to a renewable future, but environmentally friendly methods of recycling must be developed. Aluminum foil is used as the current collector, and it must be removed prior to hydrometallurgical recycling to ensure the recovery of valuable metals. Current methods use organic solvents to remove the organic binder, which serves as an adhesive link between the ... Read More

SAGA GPS Scintillation and Navsol Data Handling and Storage Mapping for Repository Offloading Purposes

Aarya Khapre '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Online repositories host data collected for research purposes in multiple formats to align with the researchers’ current data format. MIT’s Madrigal Repository for upper atmospheric sciences has many sub-repositories that store data on specific regions of research. The CEDAR subrepository hosts some GNSS scintillation data, similar to data collected by Illinois Institute of Technology receivers in Poker Flat, Alaska. Observing ... Read More

Unidirectional Build Architecture: Refactoring a HEP Data Analysis Codebase

Dheeran Wiggins '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Proposed beyond the Standard Model theories, such as various SUSY frameworks, posit the existence of non-Standard Model particles detectable in accelerator experiments through distinct event signatures. The object of our analysis concerns two such non-SM theoretical particles: the doubly charged Higgs boson (H±±), a scalar boson with Drell-Yan and vector boson fusion production mechanisms, and the dark photon (γd), a ... Read More

Utilization of Computer-Aided Drug Design for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Karla Sanchez '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Nearly seven million adults in the United States experience bipolar disorder. Symptoms of this mental illness include extreme mood swings rapidly ranging from depressive episodes to periods of mania. Currently, mood stabilizers such as antidepressants and antipsychotics are used for the treatment of bipolar disorder alongside therapeutic options. One such treatment is the antipsychotic risperidone and its active metabolite 9-hydroxyrisperidone ... Read More

10:50 AM

Availability of suboxone films and naloxone nasal spray in pharmacies in Cook County, IL

Megan Sia '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been significant waves of opioid overdose deaths due to the disruption to daily life that has impacted individuals susceptible to substance abuse. The US has taken action in combating the rise in opioid overdose deaths by improving access to life- saving medications: Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) and NARCAN (naloxone) nasal spray effectively reduce ... Read More

Design and Synthesis of Potential Treatments for Leishmaniasis

Jadesola Suleiman '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease found in 88 countries, a majority of which are located in the tropic or subtropics, earning it the title of a neglected tropical disease (NTD). The disease is primarily characterized by fevers, enlarged spleens, weight loss, and swollen glands. This study was done in collaboration with the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative (DNDi) and the ... Read More

Differences in admission characteristics of ICH patients with and without coagulopathy

Rithik Thekiniath '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Coagulopathy is a medical condition in which the body's blood clotting mechanisms are impaired or disrupted. This can result in abnormal bleeding or clotting, which can be life threatening if not promptly diagnosed and treated. This is especially true in serious injuries such as intracranial hemorrhaging for penetrating brain injuries. The intent of this analysis is to determine what variables ... Read More

Examining Clinical Factors Pre and Post Biofire BCID Implementation

Kenith Taukolo '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Bloodstream infections (BSI) represent approximately 40% of hospital-acquired (HA) cases and 20% of ICU-acquired cases. Furthermore, bloodstream infections are known to be associated with higher mortality, as one study showed a 14% increase in mortality in HIV patients with positive blood cultures. Due to the widespread susceptibility to BSIs, it requires a way to properly and quickly diagnose and identify ... Read More

Experimental Analysis of the Shinnery Oak Shrub Using High Resolution Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery

Lily Song '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The Shinnery Oak (Quercus havardii) is an endangered short clonal deciduous shrub native to the Great Plains of North America. The species play a keystone role in its community, yet over one million acres of the Shinnery Oak have been eradicated. The species’ restoration is vital to biodiversity, the well-being of endangered species in the community, erosion control, and livestock ... Read More

Finding an Alternative to Metformin

Dominik Kozbiel '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Metformin is one of the oldest drugs that is still currently used, and it is the most prescribed drug for treating diabetes. While Metformin is incredibly inert (as a result of it being a biguanide), it does not bind to its binding site too strongly. Through my research, I have developed hundreds of alternatives to Metformin using computer aided drug ... Read More

Human Body Detection with Occlusion

Aditya Prashanth '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The purpose of this design experiment was to attempt to determine the accuracy/possibility of using Kalman filters to approximate a human’s location when blocked by an occlusion/obstacle. This could potentially be implemented in the field of human-robot interaction to allow humans and robots to collaborate without interference. The outcome of this research project could similarly result in more accurate measurements ... Read More

Investigating the Role of TET2 Enzymes in the Proliferation, Differentiation, and Survival of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

David Dickson '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) enzymes play a critical role in DNA demethylation, which is essential for mammalian development and differentiation. Recent research suggests that the absence of TET enzymes is associated with an increased risk of malignancies. Among the TET enzymes, TET2 is the most commonly mutated and the focus of our investigation. Using gene editing techniques based on clustered regularly ... Read More

Machine Learning Diagnosis of Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Irene Liu '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a nasal disease characterized by inflamed mucosa and paranasal sinuses for at least 12 consecutive weeks. The disease requires 12+ weeks of characteristic symptoms, nasal endoscopy, and/or a computed tomography scan which are frequently inaccessible in primary care. This project introduces an easier method to screen for CRS using a patient’s speech patterns, signal processing algorithms, ... Read More

Malware Detection for the ABLE Program

Aditi Kumar '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office runs the ABLE program which allows individuals with disabilities to build financial wellness without losing federal benefits. However, many people who use the ABLE program require assistance to navigate technology and this assistance does not always come from those who are sufficiently technologically literate. People with disabilities are targeted digitally as they are often overlooked ... Read More

Multivariate analysis for detecting lepton jets

Kevin Zhang '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Effective identification of dark photon-generated lepton jets has always been difficult to perform through standard cuts-based procedures. The possibility of solving this problem using multivariate analysis (MVA) methods has been tested. The initial list of input parameters included the total transverse momentum, azimuthal angle, pseudorapidity, number of particles, and jet width of each jet. The leading particle transverse momentum and ... Read More

Potential Treatments for Mycetoma Using Synthesized Ferinamol Derivatives

Ireland Morgan '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Damilola Tabiti '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Eumycetoma, or fungal infections of mycetoma, plague third world countries. The symptoms of this disease include lesions with fistulae and abscesses filled with pus on the limbs, which sometimes need amputation. The current treatment methods of antifungal antibiotics and antifungal therapy of eumycetoma are currently not very effective. This project’s intention is to synthesize derivatives of Fenarimol, an antifungal agent, ... Read More

Presence of Anti-Uyghur Influence Operations in Xinjiang

Ryan Li '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The purpose of this study is to analyze patterns of Twitter to determine the existence of influence operations and their relation to the current narrative of Uyghur oppression in Xinjiang. Our analysis focuses on the Twitter Moderation Research Consortium (TMRC) of flagged accounts marked as spam, or “persistent platform manipulation campaigns,” consisting of over 2,048 accounts and 31,269 tweets. We ... Read More

Relationship between dark photon delta R and gamma

Albert Han '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Vikram Rao '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The dark photon is part of a dark sector beyond Standard Model theory that aims to explain dark matter. The dark photon can interact weakly with the Standard Model via kinetic mixing, allowing the dark photon to decay into leptons. These leptons form lepton jets, pairs of opposite-sign, collimated leptons, because of their relativistic boost, gamma, from the dark photon’s ... Read More

Runtime Comparative Analysis of Java and Python Programs with Algorithms of Different Time Complexities

Ellen Guan '24, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Runtime, one of the crucial metrics for evaluating program performance, differs between Java and Python programs due to their inherent differences, where Java is statically typed and both compiled and interpreted, while Python is dynamically typed and only interpreted. Our study investigates the extent to how features of Java and Python impact execution time of four programs with algorithms of ... Read More

UIC Urban Health Club

Ayati Lala '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

The UIC Urban Health Program Urban Health Club (UHC) is an initiative that aims to bridge the gap between high school students and healthcare careers. The program's primary objective is to expose students to various health professions and career pathways. Through in-person community events, interviews, and research, students participating in the program have the opportunity to identify health disparities within ... Read More

Using the Poco-synthetic Polymer Graft for Urinary Bladder Regeneration

Vikarm Karra '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Nachiket Rajinikanth '23, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Bladder augmentation cystoplasty has been the gold standard for treating pediatric patients with developmentally abnormal urinary bladder. This procedure functions by using bowel tissue to increase bladder capacity while reducing spasticity for the patient. The rigorous surgical procedure poses unwanted long-term issues such as malignant transformation, excessive mucus production, electrolyte imbalances, and perforation. The method, considered effective, still reports a ... Read More